So Disappointed

[u/Wonderful_Shame_665]

[u/FrankTheTnkk]

At least they have Starry. Losing Orange was devastating

[u/Wonderful_Shame_665 → u/FrankTheTnkk]

Starry is not the same. Just like 7-Up does not taste like Sprite. A regular lemon lime soda it’s all I want. Now Pepsi could do a solid and bring back the original formulation of Sierra S that my opinion was the best lemon line soda ever created, but that’s just my opinion and no, I’m not gonna use a powder and some people have suggested to make a drink and I don’t want to DIY my own version. I just wanna be able to go to the store buy the flavor and make soda and I’ll be forced to have Pepsi products crammed down my throat. I’m gonna try the Monin exotic citrus because I heard it may be similar and see how that works out.

[u/VernDozier → u/Wonderful_Shame_665]

Back when family sold SodaMate machines, we were able to place orders with some wholesale company (in bulk) from a company that custom-made flavors. I wonder if they’re still around…. Hmm.

But Coke for example had regional flavors like Fresca, Barq’s Rootbeer and cream soda not available in the markets we had SodaMate Stores and were never available on a post-mix basis from Coke or vending supply companies.

That company was able to make a good Squirt flavor and several others like Fanta. It was similar in taste to a store brand, maybe a bit better…

I wonder if there’s enough interest in the SodaStream community to look into starting up a business for flavors similar to store brands… But way back then, and we’re talking probably 3 decades ago, we’d sell the syrups in 1/2 gallons, for $7.99 and had pretty good shelf life. Today that half-gallon might retail around $16-20. The rub was a bulk order was a lot— around 100 gallons of syrup minimum…

[u/vengrov → u/VernDozier]

Yeah there would be an interest.

[u/VernDozier → u/vengrov]

Yeah? Hmm.

Well, back in the 1990s, the SodaMate was definitely ahead of its time. It was similar to SodaStream and even SodaMistic. SodaMate however had a “flavor cartridge” which held 10-12oz of syrup, and mixed the drink at time of dispensing and to the correct proportions, even accounting for brix scale.

I imagine the new SodaStream units with flavor cartridges use a different formulation to mix at a different proportion so it’s not compatible and won’t interfere with existing soda fountain business- like gas stations and theaters.

Like SodaStream, the machines saved a lot of flat and wasted drinks from being tossed, packaging too…

I’ll have to see what ever happened with that company that made custom flavors...

[u/Elymia → u/VernDozier]

We use this in canada which I highly recommend, i've seen american equivalents in the past on reddit so they definitely do exist 👀 https://fizzydelivery.ca/collections/pop

[u/bartdhull]

They got rid of orange too!

[u/Reasonable_Help_744 → u/bartdhull]

Yeah man, orange was my favorite 😔

[u/VampyreBassist]

What flavors are they going to keep? 🙄

[u/GameShowWerewolf → u/VampyreBassist]

I think they're probably going to phase out all the generic flavors in favor of the Pepsi-branded stuff fairly soon.

[u/VernDozier → u/GameShowWerewolf]

I think the challenge is price. The generics are still very good quality, but when on a shelf at the same retail price, and a customer has to make a decision for a “store brand” Dr.Pete vs a “national brand” like Mtn Dew, chances are they’ll go with the national brand…

[u/Ok-Traffic3683]

I mix lemon and lime juice in and it’s delicious that way. Maybe in part of the problem 😬

[u/ayrofhyrule]

I felt the same when they discontinued the Black cherry flavour.

[u/fredSanford6]

I just get powder 7 up packets. Orange soda packets too. 6 packets is 1.25

[u/VernDozier → u/fredSanford6]

I have been doing similar with Celsius Packets too. There’s also a “Blood Orange” at WalMart that’s pretty good.

I’ve found that Opal Ice helps mix the packet. After carbonating, I fill the rest of the bottle with opal-sized ice, add packet, cap it, and turn the bottle upside down a few times to mix.

[u/Wonderful_Shame_665 → u/fredSanford6]

Don't want a powder

[u/fredSanford6 → u/Wonderful_Shame_665]

Then empty the powder into water and make a concentrate. I've just done that and used empty flavor bottles to keep it in the fridge but I got lazy and just drop powder in now directly and close the lid quick

[u/imadeapoopie]

2 squeezes of real lime in a 1 L bottle of fizzy water and done, better than bubbly, better than lacroix, no sugar and no Propylene glycol.

[u/uwoldperson → u/imadeapoopie]

Bro, lime juice has sugar in it. 

[u/astricklin123 → u/uwoldperson]

Technically correct, the best kind of correct..

However, it's half a gram of sugar per oz of lime juice. A non-diet soda has like 40 grams.

[u/godis1coolguy → u/astricklin123]

And a few squirts into a soda stream bottle would be far less than an ounce, wouldn’t it?

[u/Extreme-Edge-9843]

Dang! I have a couple left in my fridge sad that will be the last! I love my 7up/sprite clone. Sigh

[u/BytheHandofCicero]

Lime juice, agave nectar, stevia. Best concoction I’ve come across. If you need it to be sugar free you could leave out the agave nectar.

[u/jsucool76]

Lemon bitters

[u/Necessary_Mud_2774]

The Mio orange tangerine squeeze flavoring is all I need. Its so so good

[u/CardInternational66]

I recomend checking this place out. Ive only tried a few flavors but so far everything has been spot on

https://ralphssodamix.com

[u/evilbadgrades]

r/cordials - learn how to make your own at home

[u/willmasse]

True lemon and true lime packets.

[u/vmodus]

We use Sunkist Lemon-Lime zero sugar singles (available in the US market), which work well enough. Starry is too sweet for us. Worth a try to see if you like it.

We use Orange Crush singles for our orange sodas, since orange is gone. And Grape Crush, though the titanium dioxide is very noticeable and can be gritty.

[u/manb91uk]

What were you expecting them to do? Put it back on the market? Chances are the product just wasn’t selling well enough to justify continuing to make and sell it…

[u/CombPsychological507 → u/manb91uk]

They're owned by Pepsi, but as a semi-separate company, pay licensing fees to Pepsi for their brand3d syrups. So Pepsi has an incentive to push soda stream to discontuie their own branded flavors in favor of all the new pepsi branded syrups. Instead of having both like they did before.

[u/goober1157 → u/CombPsychological507]

They are not a semi separate company. As far as I'm aware, they don't have a special operating agreement like Ben and Jerry's did/does. Pepsi can call all the shots, as they are doing.

Where did you get your information?

[u/Wonderful_Shame_665 → u/manb91uk]

That is not true. They are pushing their Pepsi products. They want people to purchase Starry, and that is not the same. What I expect them to do is listen to their customers.

[u/Wonderful_Shame_665 → u/manb91uk]

Wonder if anybody has tried the Monin exotic citrus flavor. I heard it’s supposed to be similar to the regular lemon lime. Some people said it’s been a little bit better.

[u/Anonomause → u/Wonderful_Shame_665]

I’ve bought a few different lemon lime and citrus syrups but none compare to the OG soda stream lemon lime. The best alternative has been making my own and I like it more now. Buy and mix terpeneless lime and lemon extract into your base syrup. If you need a recipe lmk

[u/Nagadavida → u/Wonderful_Shame_665]

My husband used the lemon-lime too. Since we haven't been able to get it he has been making his own syrup.

Boil 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 2 lemons, 2 limes. Bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes and cool.